Forces Flashcards
Define a newton
Force causing 1kg of mass to accelerate 1ms⁻²
Define density
Mass per unit volume of a substance
Define pressure
The force exerted per unit cross sectional area
Define pascal
Is 1 newton per square meter
Define torque of a couple
The turning effect of a couple
Define centre of mass
A point which external forces produce a straight line motion but no rotation
Define weight
The gravitational force on an object
What is Archimedes principle
Upward force is equal to the weight of the fluid it displaces
Define terminal velocity
The constant speed reached when drag force is equal
Define moment
The turning effect of a force
Define centre of gravity
A point where weight if an object appears to act
How do you find the centre of gravity
- Make holes along the edges of the object and let it hang freely from a pin
- It will come to rest with its centre of gravity below the pin
- Hang a plumb line from the pin and draw a line along the plumb line
- Repeat this for the other holes
- Where the lines intersect is the centre of gravity
Define drag
It is the frictional force that opposes the motion of the object
What does drag depend on
- Density of fluid
- Shape
- Speed
The two most important factors are speed and cross sectional area
Determining terminal velocity in fluids
- Put elastic bands around the tube of viscous liquid in fixed distances
- Drop a ball bearing and record the time at which it reaches each band
- Repeat this a few times to reduce random errors
- Calculate time take by the ball to travel between each band and find the velocity
What are the principle in moments
When a body is in equilibrium the net force acting on it is zero and it’s net movement is 0.
The sum of clockwise moments = anti-clockwise moments
Moment= force x distance
What is a couple
A pair of equal but opposite forces to the object